Tenants union pushes back against B.C.’s 4.5% rent increase

About a week after the province announced it will be allowing a 4.5 per cent rent rate increase, many are asking where the B.C. NDP’s renters’ rebate – a campaign promise – is.

“We’ve been working with our Green partners into a position where they can support the renters’ rebate,” Premier John Horgan told reporters following the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Whistler Friday.

But the Vancouver Tenants Union isn’t convinced.

“Instead of standing up for renters, it looks like the government is going to let the highest rent increase in 15 years happen,” the group said in a statement online. “There are 60,000 families in Metro Vancouver who spend more than 50 [per cent] of their income on housing, leaving us with very little money to cover our basic necessities.”